El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Huntsville

This building has housed other restaurants, but none I remember being as successful! Perhaps it's the team effort of everyone working here and their food backgrounds that makes it all mesh. There's live music most nights, and several televisions strategically placed.

So for me the experience starts with the welcome after I walk in the door.

Then at my table--whether lunch or dinner--the friendly team members quickly serve up nacho chips and salsa, before taking my order. (BTW, I always get a side of guac...simple and tasty!!). There's a good menu selection, all at what I consider to be reasonable pricing. While it's often busy here, you can still be seated in no time, your order taken, and food on the table soon afterwards. Good place for lunch.

You'll likely have a manager drop by your table, checking on your dining experience. Trust me, they sincerely care about your comments/observations.

Bottom line: if you want tasteful Mexican food served quickly and hot (temp wise), with friendly service in a clean, inviting environment, all for a good price, ride on over to El Vaquero located in front of the South Parkway Home Depot.

Oh yeah, they do have a bar area and customers do seem to enjoy their drinks! 😎

(These comments are based on dining at this restaurant at least 2 or 3 times a month since it's opening. I'll admit to having made a couple of bad menu choices for me, but that in no way reflects on the serving or kitchen staffs--its about my personal...

Lets stsrt with the positives.... the food was good. Not great but good. Thats about the end of it. The service is absolutely horrible. We sat down and it took about 5 minutes to get our drink orders. Now there were only 5 other tables in the place and 4 servers so it wasn't a short staffed or busy issue. Our server was too concerned with walking around with a cleaning towel and speaking to the one table near us. When he brought out the food he reaches over the back of two in our party to place the food instead of walking 2 more steps to the front of the table. The entire time, he hasn't said a word to any of us. He then comes by and takes the tickets, which if he wouldve asked he wouldve known we were all together, and reaches over our food while we are eating and places a ticket down for each of us. Still hasn't said a word. Drinks are empty by this point. He has been to the table beside us 4 times by this point and is cutting up with the gentleman at the table while we are out of drinks but he breaks away to take our plates..... without saying anything or asking if we were done... not a word. Absolute worst experience I...

If Google did fractions I'd give it a 3.5, but I figure they can have the .5 because the mariachis are fantastic! We've been twice. The first time we went I think they had only been open for a week or so. It was incredibly packed and the service was so slow it took 25+ minute to get our entree. We were actually getting ready to leave when they finally brought our order. The second time we went they were quicker, being only 10-15 minutes after we ordered. I have decided to rate Mexican restaurants version of Camarones Diabla (hot shrimp) entree. I'd give El Vaquero's version, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best I've ever had and couldnt have better, a 4.5. Outstanding job with flavor + heat. If you've read my reviews you'll see we've tried just about every Mexican restaurant from Huntsville to the end of south parkway. I recognized multiple El Vaquero employees from other restaurants. I dont know if this is a brand new venture by new owners or if some other owner in town has opened a "franchise." However, the food, particularly the Camarones, is much better than most places along...